Weekend Top 10

By Sarah Story, Citizen Events Editor 10/27/11

OCTOBER 28
Tom Leonard’s, 4150 Brookriver Dr., will host a free family move night at 7 p.m. The movie will be the Halloween classic “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.” The outdoor viewing will feature free popcorn, hot chocolate and hot apple cider. For details, call 364-5800 or visit http://www.tomleonards.com .
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The Dixie Bee-Liners will perform at 7 p.m. at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, 2880 Mountain Rd. The group’s classic repertoire includes their own originals, bluegrass barn burners, ballads and instrumentals, as well as Appalachian standards. Tickets are $20. For details, call 261-ARTS or visit http://www.artsglenallen.com .
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The Craftsmen’s Christmas Classic Art & Craft Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 29 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 30 at Richmond Raceway Complex, 600 E. Laburnum Ave. This family holiday tradition features the work of hundreds of artists and craftsmen, exhibitor demonstrations and the Christmas Tree Village. Admission is $7 for adults, $1 for children ages 6-12 and free for children under six. Admission is valid for all three days. Parking is free. For details, visit http://www.christmasclassic.com .

OCTOBER 29
The Richmond Folk Music Society will present “The Mike Mitchell Trio,” performing bluegrass, old country standards and fiddle tunes, at 8 p.m. at Congregation Or Ami, 9400 Huguenot Rd. Doors open at 7:15 p.m. Light refreshments will be available. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. For details, call 647-7856 or visit http://www.richmondfolkmusic.com .
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HandsOn Greater Richmond will host the 4th annual HandsOn Day at 9 a.m. at various locations throughout metro Richmond. HandsOn Greater Richmond provides a link for individuals, families, teams and corporate groups to join together and engage in meaningful volunteer opportunities within the Greater Richmond region. Some of this year’s projects include Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, ElderFriends, Hilliard House, YMCA of Greater Richmond, Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Centers and Make-a-Wish Foundation of Greater Virginia. For details, call 330-7027 or visit http://www.handsonrva.org .
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Lift Caregiving and VCU’s Department of Gerontology & School of Geriatric Medicine will present Modern Aging, a free event offering expert advice, helpful tools and a provider based Resource Center, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, 2880 Mountain Rd. The event will feature flu shots (bring insurance card, limited quantities available), health screenings, on-site respite care, diabetic meter testing and advance medical directive consultation and development – all for free. Topics to be discussed include nutritious and affordable meals for seniors, dealing with dementia, finances and benefits, weathering the workplace and how to effectively talk about difficult issues as a family. For details, visit http://www.liftcaregiving.com .
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The Great Pumpkin Palooza at The Shoppes at Innsbrook & Wilton Square will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be a petting zoo, costume contests, trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, crafters and vendors, Thriller and Monster Mash Dance instruction by Rigby’s Jig and more. Proceeds will benefit The Faison School of Autism. Admission is free. For details, visit http://www.innsbrook.com .
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Gayton Crossing Shopping Center will host its 14th annual Pumpkin Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival will feature a petting zoo, balloon animals, juggler Jonathan Austin, the Gayton Trolley, entertainment by Southside Funk and personnel vehicles from local emergency responders. Kids up to age 12 are invited to participate in the costume contest scheduled for 1 p.m. A total of 10 winners will receive $25 gift certificates to the Gayton Crossing store of their choice. Children can also trick-or-treat at Gayton Crossing merchants from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 28. For details, visit http://www.gaytoncrossing.com .

OCTOBER 30
The 3rd annual Walk for Lupus Now! Richmond will take place from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Richmond International Raceway, 600 E. Laburnum Ave. Affecting mostly women, lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease with no known cure that can damage any part of the body including the skin, joints, heart, lungs, blood, kidneys and brain. The Lupus Foundation of America’s butterfly logo symbolizes the malar facial rash, a common lupus symptom. There are no registration fees but participants are encouraged to raise $100 or more in donations. Funds will benefit the local chapter’s free services for patients. For details, visit http://www.richmondlupuswalk.org.
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Squirreloween, Nutzy the Squirrel’s Halloween party, will be held at The Diamond, 3001 N. Boulevard, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be face painting, costume contests, bobbing for apples, inflatables, hayrides around the warning track, the Lambeth petting zoo and more. Road Kill Roy will provide live entertainment and kids can trick-or-treat through the suites. Admission is free. For details, visit http://www.squirrelsbaseball.com

The Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District will sponsor a tree seedling giveaway on April 2 at Dorey Park Shelter 1 from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on April 3 at Hermitage High School parking lot from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Bare-root tree seedlings are available to Henrico County residents free of charge for the spring planting season.

The following seedling species will be available: apple, kousa dogwood, red maple, river birch, red osier dogwood, loblolly pine, sycamore, bald cypress, white dogwood and redbud. Quantities are limited and trees are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each participant is allowed up to 10 trees total, not to include more than five of the same species. > Read more.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) recently launched an online directory of permitted bingo games played in Virginia. Listed by locality, more than 400 regular games are available across the state. The directory will be updated monthly and can be found on VDACS’ website at http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/gaming/index.shtml.

“Many Virginia charities, including volunteer rescue squads, booster clubs and programs to feed the homeless, use proceeds from charitable gaming as a tool to support their missions, said Michael Menefee, program manager for VDACS’ Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs. > Read more.

Richmonders Jim Morgan and Dan Stackhouse were married at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Lakeside Mar. 7 month after winning the Say I Do! With OutRVA wedding contest in February. The contest was open to LGBT couples in recognition of Virginia’s marriage equality law, which took effect last fall. The wedding included a package valued at $25,000.

Morgan and Stackhouse, who became engaged last fall on the day marriage equality became the law in Virginia, have been together for 16 years. They were selected from among 40 couples who registered for the contest. The winners were announced at the Say I Do! Dessert Soiree at the Renaissance in Richmond in February. > Read more.

Two events this weekend benefit man’s best friend – a rabies clinic, sponsored by the Glendale Ruritan Club, and an American Red Cross Canine First Aid & CPR workshop at Alpha Dog Club. The fifth annual Shelby Rocks “Cancer is a Drag” Womanless Pageant will benefit the American Cancer Society and a spaghetti luncheon on Sunday will benefit the Eastern Henrico Ruritan Club. Twin Hickory Library will also host a used book sale this weekend with proceeds benefiting The Friends of the Twin Hickory Library. For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.

In a spot that could be easily overlooked is a surprising, and delicious, Japanese restaurant. In a tiny nook in the shops at the corner of Ridgefield Parkway and Pump Road sits a welcoming, warm and comfortable Asian restaurant called Ichiban, which means “the best.”

The restaurant, tucked between a couple others in the Gleneagles Shopping Center, was so quiet and dark that it was difficult to tell if it was open at 6:30 p.m. on a Monday. When I opened the door, I smiled when I looked inside. > Read more.

Cinderella is the latest from Disney’s new moviemaking battle plan: producing live-action adaptations of all their older classics. Which is a plan that’s had questionable results in the past.

Alice in Wonderland bloated with more Tim Burton goth-pop than the inside of a Hot Topic. Maleficent was a step in the right direction, but the movie couldn’t decide if Maleficent should be a hero or a villain (even if she should obviously be a villain) and muddled itself into mediocrity.

Cinderella is much better. Primarily, because it’s just Cinderella. No radical rebooting. No Tim Burton dreck. It’s the 1950 Disney masterpiece, transposed into live action and left almost entirely untouched. > Read more.